MOBILE, Ala. — A lot of draft dreamers come here each January hoping to prove something, show something, to the NFL's legion of scouts, coaches and personnel executives on hand.

They come with stories, explanations and even more than a few chips on their shoulders. It is their opportunity to get those inquiring pro football minds to hit the reset button, to change what they might think with the scouting combine and a pro day or two still on the docket.

Which brings us all to the curious case of one Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones. When Jones finished his sophomore season (2010) in Norman, Okla., with 4,718 yards passing and 38 touchdowns, there was talk before his junior season (2011) that he was on track to be the No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft if elected to come out.

Now, the 2012 draft has all the earmarks of a historical one when it comes to quarterbacks with Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson having all led teams to the playoffs in their rookie seasons. And Brandon Weeden, Ryan Tannehill and Nick Foles also started enough games to qualify in the quarterback rankings for the year.

But Jones wasn't in the 2012 draft as a junior. At the time, scouts around the league privately said they didn't like his 2011 season — still plenty gaudy with 4,463 yards passing and 29 touchdowns — as much as his sophomore year.

Jones elected to return to school to play out his senior year in 2012, finishing with 4,267 yards and 30 touchdowns. He finished his career as the Big 12's all-time leader in passing yards (16,646) and total offense (16,271 yards).

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Yet, he has done his work at the Senior Bowl this week with plenty of question marks next to his name, questions he believes he can answer before the picks get made in April.

"Absolutely, I'm a far better player now than I was as a sophomore, or a junior," Jones said. "I think I certainly improved my stock by staying (at school) and playing the way I played."

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Last year, Jones wasn't going to crack the top spot among quarterbacks in the draft. This year's class isn't considered nearly as strong, but it's also the land of passing opportunity because it's also without a consensus at the group's top spot.

There is a vacancy that can still be filled. Teams love Jones' physical makeup, his arm strength and size (6-foot-3 5/8, 221 pounds).

He's also shown the ability to run a no-huddle offense this week as the Lions coaching staff has put him through the paces.

"And I think I've shown I'm able to move around in the pocket," Jones said. "It's just something I've always tried to work on in the offseason, but this year, that was the one thing I really wanted to do, so I just made that my focus. I think I can extend plays when I need to now, better than I did earlier in my career."

The difficulty for Jones will be the biggest question some scouts have can't really be answered in a workout, because it's his decision-making under duress. That some teams simply believe some of his poorest decisions from the pocket have come in the biggest moments of some of his bigger games.

That's likely not all fair for a 16,000-yard passer at a major program, but the NFL draft ain't always fair. And while he was accurate overall in his collegiate career — 66, 63 and 66 percent completion rate in his last three seasons — he does seem to lose accuracy when he plays stiff-legged in the pocket and doesn't maintain good footwork as he goes through his reads on a play.

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